Why is he walking away from MMM? Turns out he's grown tired of the grind, and is looking to retire from competition. And unlike most of his contemporaries, Sheeran plans on staying retired.

"This isn't going to be like a Jay Z thing, I'm actually going to retire undefeated," he told MTV News. "The award is on my windowsill and it's very exciting but I just found it stressed people out too much last year, so ... I'm retiring from competition. God bless America."

Sorry, Sheerios, Ed's out, which means that once again, there will be no repeat champion in MMM. Though, before he stepped off the throne, Sheeran did perform one final duty as champ: He nominated someone to take his place in the 2014 tournament.

"I'm going to nominate Passenger," he said. "He came on tour with me for a very long period of time, he is a very good friend of mine, if you put him in, he'll go far."

Of course, before Passenger can take home the title, he's got to make the tournament. And though Sheeran's word carries considerable weight, it'll be up to you to determine if his pal makes the big dance.

Because this year, for the first time, we're letting fans pick all the bands for MMM 2014: You can tweet your picks @MTVNews using the hashtag #MMM.

We'll be watching all week, and then, on Monday, March 17, we'll unveil the full bracket of 64 bands at MMM.mtv.com.

So, if you want to see Passenger continue Ed's championship legacy, you better nominate them! Oh, and it probably wouldn't hurt to rally the troops, either; make sure to spread the word on Facebook and Twitter, and check back in on Monday, March 17, when MMM 2014 officially tips off!